Understanding the Old Testament

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Our Sinful Desire For Leaders

"Thou hast tasted of prosperity and adversity; thou knowest what it is to be banished thy native country, to be overruled as well as to rule, and set upon the throne; and being oppressed thou hast reason to know now hateful the oppressor is both to God and man: If after all these warnings and advertisements, thou dost not turn unto the Lord with all thy heart, but forget him who remembered thee in thy distress, and give up thyself to follow lust and vanity, surely great will be thy condemnation. Against which snare, as well as the temptation of those who may or do feed thee, and prompt thee to evil, the most excellent and prevalent remedy will be, to apply thyself to that light of Christ which shineth in thy conscience and which neither can, nor will flatter thee, nor suffer thee to be at ease in thy sins."

-Barclay's Address to Charles II

How oft our leaders today have not known because of their wealth and their prosperity born into families of wealth and prosperity, given the highest of educations that only the rich can obtain, provided their food and their goods, by silver spoons while sitting in silver mansions, driving golden cars, with unknown quantities of cash, how oft they have not known poverty and oppression, and the pain of suffering need. How can they be anything more than oppressors and dictators, for compassion is not learned through ease but learned through the acquisition of suffering the pains and sorrows shared by others as well. To not know these things, to never have suffered with the least, but to only have lived as the elite, how can we expect much more than the mere pennies they throw our way, while robbing us of our sweat daily we bear in labor under their oppressive rulership. Common sense tells us a man selected to rule who has not known these things, cannot truly rule at all in fairness or justly. Yet, we seem desirous as humans for reasons unknown on selecting those to rule that are more apt to oppress than those who have known oppression – Dr. Joseph Wayne Black

The first quote can be found in Thomas Paine's famous writing "Common Sense".

In this writing of Thomas Paine, he is not only arguing against the monarchy of England or it's King but making an argument why America must succeed from British rule. If you have not read this famous historical book of 1776, I would invite you to.

My argument I wish to present here, is that for whatever reason men and women, have a desire to always have a human powering over them, rather than being just a child of the Father and only subject to God and His kingdom. The jews of the Old Testament made this same error in sin, and even today from the time of the Apostles deaths, man who once served no one but Christ begin to give what once was their allegiance to Christ their high priest, began to seek again men among themselves. They sought men to be their priest, their ruler, their special man, speaking the oracles of God, laying out the rules to life, etc. The letter from Ignatius to the Magnesians, makes this very clear. Ignatius someone who apparently served in some capacity of eldership either in the already formulation of an institution of Christianity other than the Ekklesia that the Apostles laid down that was built on the foundation of Christ began to set forth the error that would for all time even unto the present, distract those who would know Christ and him alone as their King. These men of the early rise of the clergy/lay system decided to put humans in the position that of a shepard, priest or pastor which belongs to Christ alone. Popery was born out of the words of Ignatius, and popery it has been since. The odd thing is that man so often desires to have human leaders, who are but human themselves. The temple and the priesthood of old was replaced by Christ the high priest, and His creation of the Ekklesia, His called out one's which is the only Temple God will dwell in both individually and corporately. For we are the His Temple, Christ being the true temple of God, and we are joined with Him, if we are His.
Christ did not die on a cross, and suffer shame to build a new religion, with priest and Temples. Judaism already had that, all the pagan religions have that, why in God's name would men seek other men to power over them rather than God himself to be their Father, Christ their King, and High Priest and the Holy Spirit their Pastor?

It is the sinfulness of men, that seeks this, for as long as a human can be some sort of representative of God, then God is made into the image of men, rather than the truth which is Man is to be the image of God. Men always choose to worship the creation rather then the Creator. The book of Romans and the first chapter makes this very clear.

Thus when Christ died the Temple veil was torn into, for now the sinless priest had entered the Holy of Holies, once and for all, for all sinners. No longer would there be a need for a priest to enter, and make sacrifice for sin, no more. This is spelled out very clearly in the book of Hebrews. This explains the lack of need of anymore earthly priest to represent God's spokesman, God's leader or God's man.
For only one man is worthy of leadership, only one person who ever walked this earth, His name is Yeshua- Jesus- Lord of Lords, and King of Kings! It is here we see that Jesus not only is the better rest, replacing Sabbatarianism, where Jesus is the better King, replacing earthly Kings, where Jesus is the better priest, replacing all earthly priest, where Jesus is the better sacrifice, replacing all earthly sacrifices, where Jesus is the only Pastor, Priest that men will ever need.
Where God the Father appoints his children a place with the King, that all who cry upon His name, and have placed their faith and trust in Him have been declared as kings and priest unto Him, as His Holy Spirit the very Spirit of the risen Saviour and King has come to dwell within men, that is all men that have recieved Him as their only priest and king. Anything other than this, is "paganism".
Anything other than Christ as King, who knows your temptations, your pain, your agony, your struggle against sin, He who overcame sin, who knew no sin, is the one that has come to reside in the believer. It is the Holy Spirit who is to lead you into all truth. Anything other than the Holy Spirit as your teacher is not only anti-biblical but anti-Christ.
Thus John writes,in chapter two verse 27:
"And as for you, the anointing which you recieved from Him abides in you, and you have NO NEED for ANYONE to teach YOU: but as His anointing teaches you about ALL THINGS,and is TRUE and is not a LIE, and just as it has been taught you, you ABIDE IN HIM!"

Paul knew and John knew that the clergy/lay system would come about, they warned that there were wolves among the sheep just waiting until they were gone, that would jump on the sheep, and seek to draw them from Christ, to once again, a religious system made up of men, "acting as God, standing in the temple of God".
Men have been doing this since the death of the Apostles, developing and creating an organization that once was organic and not an institution. Out of it was born POPERY, and no matter what PROTESTANTS say, they have chosen to be in that very system, by their honor to a human called the Pastor. The Pastor simply replaced the priest and the church hierarchy and it's denominational Presidents, and so forth simply replaced the Pope and his cardinals. Men has still fallen to the sin of desiring men to rule over them, fallen sinful men to stand in the place of God, speaking as if he was God, and ruling as if he was a god. Men sinned in Christianity as quickly as ancient Israel did in their desire for a King rather than God as their King. I close this with Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" quote of this ancient story from the Old Testament. A nice summation of even Israel's desire to have a man to rule over them just like the pagan's had, and God's response to it all. Here it is:

Government by kings was first introduced into the world by the Heathens, from whom the children of Israel copied the custom. It was the most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of idolatry. The Heathens paid divine honors to their deceased kings, and the christian world hath improved on the plan by doing the same to their living ones. How impious is the title of sacred majesty applied to a worm, who in the midst of his splendor is crumbling into dust.
As the exalting one man so greatly above the rest cannot be justified on the equal rights of nature, so neither can it be defended on the authority of scripture; for the will of the Almighty, as declared by Gideon and the prophet Samuel, expressly disapproves of government by kings. All anti-monarchial parts of scripture have been very smoothly glossed over in monarchial governments, but they undoubtedly merit the attention of countries, which have their governments yet to form. 'Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's' is the scriptural doctrine of courts, yet it is no support of monarchial government, for the jews at that time were without a king, and in a state of vassalage to the Romans.
Near three thousand years passed away from the Mosaic account of the creation, till the Jews under a national delusion requested a king. Till then their form of government (except in extraordinary cases, where the Almighty interposed) was a kind of republic administered by a judge and the elders of the tribes. Kings they had none, and it was held sinful to acknowledge any being under that title but the Lords of Hosts. And when a man seriously reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to the persons of Kings, he need not wonder, that the Almighty, ever jealous of his honor, should disapprove of a form of government which so impiously invades the prerogative of heaven. Monarchy is ranked in scripture as one of the sins of the jews, for which a curse in reserve is denounced against them. The history of that transaction is worth attending to.The children of Israel being oppressed by the Midianites, Gideon marched against them with a small army, and victory, thro' the divine interposition, decided in his favor. The Jews elate with success, and attributing it to the generalship of Gideon, proposed making him a king, saying, Rule thou over us, thou and thy son and thy son's son. Here was temptation
in its fullest extent; not a kingdom only, but an hereditary one, but Gideon in the piety of his soul replied, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you, THE LORD SHALL
RULE OVER YOU. Words need not be more explicit; Gideon doth not decline the honor
but denieth their right to give it; neither doth be compliment them with invented
declarations of his thanks, but in the positive stile of a prophet charges them with
disaffection to their proper sovereign, the King of Heaven.
About one hundred and thirty years after this, they fell again into the same error. The hankering which the jews had for the idolatrous customs of the Heathens, is something exceedingly unaccountable; but so it was, that laying hold of the misconduct of Samuel's two sons, who were entrusted with some secular concerns, they came in an abrupt and clamorous manner to Samuel, saying, Behold thou art old and thy sons walk not in thy ways, now make us a king to judge us like all the other nations. And here we cannot but observe that their motives were bad, viz. that they might be like unto other nations, i. e. the Heathens, whereas their true glory laid in being as much unlike them as possible. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, give us a king to judge us; and Samuel prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, THAT I SHOULD NOT REIGN OVER THEM. According to all the works which have done since the day; wherewith they brought them up out of Egypt, even unto this day; wherewith they have forsaken me and served other Gods; so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice, howbeit, protest solemnly unto them and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them, i. e. not of any particular king, but the general manner of the kings of the earth, whom Israel was so eagerly copying after. And notwithstanding the great distance of time and difference of manners, the character is still in fashion, And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people, that asked of him a king. And he said, This shall be the manner of the king that shall reign over you; he will take your sons and appoint them for himself for his chariots, and to be his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariots (this description agrees with the present mode of impressing men) and he will appoint him captains over thousands and captains over fifties, and will set them to ear his ground and to read his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots; and he will take your daughters to be confectioneries and to be cooks and to be bakers (this describes the expense and luxury as well as the
oppression of kings) and he will take your fields and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants; and he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give them to his officers and to his servants (by which we see that bribery,corruption, and favoritism are the standing vices of kings) and he will take the tenth of your men servants, and your maid servants, and your goodliest young men and your asses, and put them to his work; and he will take the tenth of your sheep, and ye shall be his servants, and ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen, AND THE LORD WILL NOT HEAR YOU IN THAT DAY. This accounts for the continuation of monarchy; neither do the characters of the few good kings which have lived since, either sanctify the title, or blot out the sinfulness of the origin; the high encomium given of David takes no notice of him officially as a king, but only as a man after God's own heart.
Nevertheless the People refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said. Nay, but we will have a king over us, that we may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us and fight our battles. Samuel continued to reason with them, but to no purpose; he set before them their ingratitude, but all would not avail; and seeing them fully bent on their folly, he cried out, I will call unto the Lord, and he shall sent thunder and rain (which then was a punishment, being the time of wheat harvest) that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, IN ASKING YOU A KING. So Samuel called unto the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God that we die not,for WE HAVE ADDED UNTO OUR SINS THIS EVIL, TO ASK A KING. These portions of scripture are direct and positive. They admit of no equivocal construction. That the Almighty hath here entered his protest against monarchial government is true, or the scripture is false. And a man hath good reason to believe that there is as much of kingcraft,as priest-craft in withholding the scripture from the public in Popish countries. For monarchy in every instance is the Popery of government.
-End of quote

Could it be that we have so been fleshly men in our desires to have a mere man rule over us, not only in the body of Christ, that we now as Americans so wished to have a King rule over us, verses a Constitution by the people, and for the people, that now the sins of America are being seen in the punishment we have to bear now. Is America about to face the judgement of God, as it has forsaken the very Constitution formed to protect us from one man tyrants. Is the "institutional church" finally facing it's judgement, as they are condemned by government, and ruled by government because they were so foolish to desire to be nothing more than another organization run by men, for the sake of untrighteous mammon, and there desire to be ruled by the State by incorportation? I beleive so.
Even Herod died a quick untimely death for he too decided not to honor God and honor only himself. Wake up American's and wake up Christians. God will have no one other than His Son Jesus as King. For far too long we disregarded the words of Jesus, when He said, you can not love God and Mammon.
America has far too long enjoyed it's riches, worshipped them, and even formulated their "churches" around them. JUDGEMENT BEGINS WITH THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD!
We are about to face judgement. We have chosen men over God, pastors instead of Christ, buildings instead of the temple of God- your body which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and Presidents as kings, rather than Christ, and a land here on earth as our kingdom rather than the Kingdom of God which is not of this world.
Judgement is at hand!
The burps in the economyheading us to the worst depression this country has ever known, the destruction of civil liberties, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the prosecution of mega church preachers and their rich kingdoms falling into judgement under the State they chose to be their god, are all just pains of childbirth just before the child is born. It is the storm that is soon to come in this country that will rattle the mind set of America, and will shake it's very core. The time is short to give honor unto honor is due- God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Let God's Kingdom be the only kingdom that you bow your knee to. For far too long you have thought of America as God's chosen nation- it is not, and will never be, but it can be a nation whereby it's people, change, have a paradigm shift of thinking and are no longer conformed to this world. It is time to humble ourselves, before the King of Kings. Bow your knee to Him who is king, for in the end, it will not be the kingdom of America that will stand nor will it be the kingdom of Israel, it will be God's kingdom, His true Ekklesia (His called out one's) who will reign with Christ for all eternity. Forget your bank acounts, they won't matter tommorrow, throw away your dollars they will be mere paper soon, forget your 401 K plans they will be worthless in the coming days, but your heart, for God will be all that matters. Make sure that is where your heart is, Let us repent of our sinful desire for leaders, as kings, both in the church and in government and seek only Christ and Him alone! Do we honestly believe in this time of election any MAN or WOMAN can provide for us for that which Christ can only provide and that is true justice, tempered with compassion and a kingdom that is truly a kingdom where all men are equal and their king seeks not to power over them but to lift them up to reside with Him and not for a short term but for all eternity? To God be the glory and honor forever! Amen

Dr. J.

War and Taxes - A Call to the Christian Conscience

"What would you do if someone came to your door, with a cup  in hand asking for your contribution to help buy guns to kill a group of people they didn't like"?

 

You would either ask the questions as to who and why, as many do today, accepting the governments explanation for spending 30-40% of your income tax for the wars it is involved in, or you would say go away, I'm not giving you anything to kill anybody.

Going with the latter answer, it seems the most logical when offered no explanation for this contribution other than to buy guns and kill a group of people they didn't like.

Here is the problem of tax paying for those like myself, who do not believe in war and believe Jesus brings a Gospel of peace.

Peace and goodwill to all men was the declaration of the angels at Christ's birth.

How the church has turned from the heart of the Gospel to where most fundamentalist today stand is a subject I am writing on in a book I intend to title "Why The American Church is Failing",

 

The question of paying taxes is a question we must face as a non-resistant believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. This question I believe has been answered with suggestions of how to resist by either no payment or partial payments to the IRS and great clarity of the penalties, etc. by  the Mennonites www.mcc.org and the War Resistance League. www.warresistors.org

 

Here are some facts you may not be aware of:

 

Cost of the War in Iraq
$410,451,578,221
as of 8:46 on March 22, 2007

 

MORE DEATHS

 

• More than 34,000 Iraqi civilian deaths in 2006 — twice as many as in 2005 — and 37,000 injured 1
• More than 12,000 Iraqi security forces killed since 2003 1
• More than 3,900 U.S. military and "coalition" forces dead with more than 38,400 U.S. military and coalition forces wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 2
• Twice as many Afghani deaths in 2006 — 4,400 (including 1,000 civilians) — compared to 2005 3

 

 LESS SECURITY 

 

"Rather than contributing to eventual victory in the global counterterrorism struggle, the situation in Iraq has worsened the U.S. position."4

 

"It's a very candid assessment . . . stating the obvious," according to
one intelligence official.

 

1 UN report, 1/16/2007;
2 icasualties.org;
3 Human Rights Watch report (AP, 1/30/07);
4 A key finding of the National Intelligence Estimate, a 2006 report from 16 U.S. government spy agencies ("Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight," Washington Post, 9/24/06)
 FEWER FRIENDS 

 

A poll of 26,000 people in 25 countries show the global view of the U.S. role in world affairs is deteriorating.
• 73% disapprove of U.S. role in Iraq
• 68% believe that the U.S. military presence in the middle East provokes more conflict than it prevents
• 49% believe the United States plays a mainly negative role in the world

 

source: BBC World Service poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org
 

Now these facts alone are not enough to make many individuals war resistors, for the truth be told, fundamental churches have bought into the teachings of Dispensationalism and  the result is war mongering, and more and more they have twisted scriptures, I believe to their own destruction. When I speak of destruction, they have left their first love, Jesus, for the love of the world, self and nationalistic pride.

 

I am someone who understands the IRS and their power. I have since 1983 been in a struggle against their tactics of intimidation and not because I had resisted paying taxes, in most cases, it was due to employers failing to report all I have paid, or to the IRS claims somehow enough was not paid. In some cases upon filing I found out that I still owed more taxes when during the time I was working and my employer was taking out taxes, I assumed they were taking out the right amount, then would find at the end of the year, I owed and I didn't have what was owed to pay. 

I have always filed and never intentionally lied on my income tax return and simply tried to pay my tax as due. Misunderstanding the scripture in context when it says, pay taxes to whom taxes are due. We forget that this continues with saying, owe no debt to anyone but the debt of love.

I have since 1985 paid near every month additional payments to the IRS just to pay them what they claim I owe. In the last 6 years that has meant paying them, $250.00 a month until I finally got them to reduce it to $50.00 per month. I was at that time going through a period of unemployment, health problems and more, which left me broke. I am still only partially employed, doing direct marketing for 20 hours per week that pays only commissions when an appointment is set for the service representative to do a demo of our product. The demo must be carried through, sale or no sale, which means most often people have second thoughts and cancel their appointments I set. To this point I have earned only $584.00  - subtract taxes, in the past 5 weeks since going back to work part-time. I am still broke. I obtain little help from outside sources, but God is my sustainer and my provider and I remain thankful to him, for all that he has done for me and is doing for me. I have been unable to find full-time work, for 6 months now, and have sent out, over 100 resumes, to find that the corporate world is just not in the market for 53 year old men regardless of their  education, experience and skills. I continue to look but still no replies, or answers to applications or resumes.

The IRS during all these years, would dig up new claims of owing them taxes even going back to the tax year 1993 in the year, 2005. This is over 12 years ago, assuredly there has to be some sort of law against going back that far.  They know I couldn't prove them wrong if I wanted to, as those tax records are long gone. Those records are lost to the many moves I have made, the cleaning out of my home after my wife's untimely death in a freak car accident in 2001 and just in general of not holding onto these records  because I didn't think it was important to keep them beyond 7 years. 

I was mislead to think they could only go back 7 years. I guess I was wrong, I have had no one tell me different.

 

My wife and I had filed an Offer to Compromise in July 2001, they didn't respond after the longest time period, (per their statement they had 30 days to decide), I heard nothing for 9 months, we did hear from our Taxpayer's Advocate, two months after the filing that the IRS claimed they didn't get our electric utility bills, which we know they did and the Taxpayer's Advocate, said she recalled them being in the package she helped mail.

We went through the whole process again of accumulating these records to send them. Yet, still time went by. My wife of 27 years was killed in an accident on November 21, 2001, then not until April 2002, did I hear from them after I filed my taxes for 2002, and they had rejected our plea, When I called them they told me, now that my wife was dead, I would have to file "two" Offers of Compromise one under my dead wife's name and then one under my name. Needless to say, I was exasperated. I gave an attorney $4,000 of my wife's life insurance money I had inherited to file these, being assured by him he could help reduce my tax and get them to make an offer in settlement.

Instead the lawyer took me for a ride, did nothing and kept the money, then created a fake bill for his time- which might have been a total of 2 hours that we ever talked. The State only offered a grievance form to be filled out as the only means of action to be taken against him. This "shyster" knew what he was doing, he made it impossible for me to come back and get my money back, as he wrote the contract, to say in small lettering, "he guaranteed no results and no money back guarantee".

Lawyers like him commit a crime against people everyday and walk away, without penalty or repayment to their client. This is life in America, land of the rich and the oppressed.

Land where the lawyers make laws that oppress the poor and enrich the rich.

 

I lost my chance to file an Offer to Compromise and I lost $4,000 which could have been paid on the taxes which would have been better than the "thieving" lawyer stealing my money. So, there  I was back to square one paying money to the IRS for years back that they claim I owe and I truthfully do not know that I do owe any taxes for most of the years claimed.

I have had during all this time, two personal audit meetings with them. One in 1986 and one sometime around 1994. Neither one of these would be what I call at that time a chance to prove them wrong with records but rather a time for them to tell me what I was going to pay and when.

My battle has gone from a Congressional tax case initiated by a Senator of Texas, Phil Gramm, who assisted me in getting the Tax Payers Advocate and an opportunity to settle for less with an Offer to Compromise, to the IRS denying of my Offers to Compromise, to them requiring two new Offers of Compromise, to no offer filed because a lawyer stole my money, to paying them monthly from 2002 - 2005  - $250.00 per month to paying $50.00 per month until I finally couldn't pay them anything due to my bad health and unemployment.

I now suppose I will get the typical letters of demand - "pay or else" threats again. To be quite honest, I am not only tired of the harassment, I am tired of contributing any money period to a nation that has gone mad and spends over 31% of our income taxes for WAR!

I am tired of the threats and the harassment, I have nothing for them to take, and welcome them to take the only thing I own, a 1996 Pickup truck which has over 168,000 miles on it and is my only means of transportation. Take away my means of transportation they take away my ever having a chance to pay their taxes. Garnish my small earnings I have right now, I quit work and they get nothing.

I would say I should be declared "uncollectible". Since the rejection in 2002, I have paid what they claimed was $28,000 down to about 9,000 dollars. The remaining $9,000 is as debatable as that which they have already collected from me. You have to remember this is the Internal Revenue Service. Though I have dealt with some individuals by telephone who have been very understanding, the collections process is not. The poor men, pays by intimidation which they the IRS know works well. The rich men is very seldom harassed because he can afford large tax attorney firms that can hold collections up in court for years. They almost always can obtain an Offer to Compromise and pay little of the actual tax due. I once read a report by a former IRS collector who said this was their practice and the managers of the IRS collection department made this very clear to their collectors, to collect from those that they could intimidate, "the poor".

 

I am a peace lover, I am strong believer in non-resistance as Christ taught and the Apostles lived out with the practices of the earliest believers who died for their faith in the Roman Coliseums and even on a cross hung upside down as Peter did. The Great Persecution or The Great Tribulation.

Why didn't any of them resist those who persecuted them? Why didn't the early Christians including Paul take up a sword and form a group of people to fight their oppressors. Not one of them ever lifted their hand to strike out at their persecutors, all except Peter on the night at Gethsemane and then Christ told him to put down his sword and the Jesus healed the servants ear.

 

We must ask ourselves, if we are truly Christians, one specific question. Doesn't contribution monetarily toward a government that is bent on the deaths of many people, constitute, that we should refuse to pay either that portion of tax that goes to war or even all our taxes? This is a question I have asked myself a lot in the last 3 years especially since through time with the Lord in prayer and much biblical study, I concluded that I believe as the Mennonites do in Non-Resistance and only in the Kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit has confirmed this in my heart.

I know there are many arguments otherwise but there is no argument that stands against what Jesus did, and what the  book of 1st John tells us, that if "we abide in Him, we will walk even as He (Jesus) walked".

 

Yes, Jesus showed anger and there is no where we are told that anger is wrong, as long as it doesn't lead to sin.

I am angry now, but my anger will not lead to murder or hatred of my brother.

I am angry against a organized governmental system that in no way gives us a choice to contribute or not to contribute to evils that we as Christian believers should have choice in.

I choose to love my enemy as Christ taught and to do good to them. Good is not the death and destruction this nation has become largely responsible for worldwide anymore. One cannot even apply Justified War to Iraq. The attack of 911, had nothing to do with Iraq and Afghanistan, yet now, thousands have died because in our hearts along with a lying President, we became evil and cried, Vengeance!

When the Lord, says, "Vengeance is mine", and He wasn't even talking about vengeance for the sake of countries and governments but for the persecution of those of His church. The attack on the WTC was an attack against our financial systems and economics, it wasn't an attack directed at Christianity and even if it were, God, says, "Vengeance is Mine"! We are now suffering the chastening of the Lord individually for not listening to the Spirit of God, with 3,400 men and women being sent home in body bags. Truly, if this was a battle God told us to fight the victory as an the Old Testament days would have been hands down with little or no loss of American lives. I state this because those who ascribe to justified war love to use OT scripture as their justification, as if we are a Theocracy as Israel was. This is not the Lords' Battle.

 

Good is not killing others for the sake of my ideas of government or other worldly concepts. Good is preaching the ministry of reconciliation to Muslim and Jew alike. Teaching the truth of salvation, when taught in truth always results in peace between all people. "Love conquers all".

I am now in the place trying to determine how best to continue paying for taxes I am not sure I owe anyway and my conscience that hates war and loves peace. It is a difficult problem for anyone facing this. In truth the biggest reason people don't want to answer their conscience in regards to this, is because refusal or even partial payment, may result in the loss of any and all material goods they have, including if they own a car or their home. The other side is they may fear going to jail. Something even I fear, as I see jail as the worst thing we can do to anyone. To take a person and lock them up for their conscience on serving or not serving war, is absolutely the greatest injustice one man can do to another. Then again, no one ever said, that man's justice is good, even David asked God to give Him His justice rather than that of men's, knowing full well that God's is tempered with love and compassion and correctiveness in mind, and the concept of sinful men's idea of justice is only in punishing individuals for their sins against society or law, while yet they are sinners themselves. God offers forgiveness, men do not. God is holy and any justice he gives us is from Him that is perfect, whereby imperfect men, subject other imperfect men to  punishment for the very same sins they are guilty of. They live a lie, saying it isn't true but Jesus proved just the opposite. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Even the murderer is no more greater a sinner then he who hates his brother. Jesus made this clear, and hatred of any group, of people, culture, race, or peoples of a religion that we don't agree with is in the eyes of God, murder!

The American fundamentalist continue to feed this fire of hatred with their rhetoric against Muslim, Palestinians, homosexuals and more. We may not agree with various practices, or religions, or other, but we are not called to be judges as Christians but to minister reconciliation to these people in the form of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Beyond that we have no higher duty then to love them, pray for them and preach the Good News to them.

We cannot legislate righteousness, man is sinful, only a new creation in Christ can establish righteousness in a man, woman or child's life. Law's designed to regulate man's behavior, have proven failed throughout history. I am not calling for no law, for society itself would crumble without law because it is made up of the lawless as well as the Christian, but to remember that the law is for the lawless and a school master to Christ, and that as such it is our purpose only as Christians to seek the redemption of all violators by showing them the way to Christ.

It is not our job to punish  this belongs only to the, One Lawgiver and Judge, God.

I oppose the death penalty for these reasons and I truly believe we can find better ways to correct criminals then propagating criminality through penitentiaries and putting them in a society that only promotes criminality, not only among the imprisoned but with those that imprison them. Recent events in Texas youth prisons have proven my point and the history of criminal justice has proven my point. Very few people come out corrected and very few people stay corrected from imprisonment. The few that have it is only due to the presence of Christian outreach and their conversion to Christ. Many of these in the prisons suffer, psychological and spiritual problems that could be resolved, many had no chance in life in their upbringing, and they could be made whole with a different societal approach to their correction. How can imperfect men, ever correct imperfect men, without Christ as center of that correction coming from a Spirit led and abiding Christian.  This is not the case in the real world. Thus it is a spiral that continues until Jesus comes, or we as believers take more action to being a part to bringing the Kingdom of God to pass in people's lives. I thank God for people like my uncle who was a Prison Chaplain, I have seen God use his ministry to bring life to many individuals. He is not perfect but he has Christ and scripture and it is the Word that changes an individual whether them, you or me.

It is our calling to correct the body of Christ always with the thought in mind that we too may fall into sin, and to offer compassion and forgiveness. not judgment, condemnation in which punishment doesn't involve these things -correction ( being steered in a new direction) and healing ( both psychological and spiritual). Punishment only appeases men's flesh and sinful pride, especially for those doing the punishment.

We are to extend this love of God to ALL men, regardless of their religious belief or sin. We are to remember, that God so loved the "world" that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. It must always begin the same way God's love does, He loves all men, and offers them redemption.

He took care of the redemption it is our call and duty to offer this to others by the way we live our lives and the words we share with others. This love for them that is without prejudice or bias.

We are to love them not kill them, or punish them, we are but to love them. This is the hardest way, this is the narrow gate, because everything in our flesh says the opposite.

 

I have digressed from somewhat where I began this editorial, but all the same, it is for us to see, that war doesn't meet the call of our heavenly Father, and that we really need to ask ourselves; are we contributing to this evil by paying our taxes. In honesty, the answer has to be a loud, Yes.

Now what you do about it is up to you, and how much you may be willing to sacrifice of the "me" for the "all".

The greatest prophets and saints have always sacrificed as they stood in direct opposition to the world, their people, their culture and their society, and it's ways.

We are in the world, but scripture makes it very clear, we are not to love the things of this world and hatred is one of the big things of this world and war is it's means of exercising that hatred.

Dispensationalism, and the "Left Behind" series of fictional, non scriptural theology and exegesis has brought many to believe the big lie. This lie feeds the flesh. It is fed with justified hatred and it is very hard to escape it once one let's it become a part of themselves.  Sow to the flesh, you reap the flesh.

I am really beginning to see that "war tax resistance" may be the only hope we have left of changing this country from the war mongering, blood thirsty nation we have become.

God have mercy on us for the death and destruction we have so willingly supported. We need forgiveness not only for our willingness to listen to preachers with itching ears, but our continual contribution to the war effort in our silence, and our willingness to pay for it.

I remind readers it was over a simple tax on tea, that fired up the American Revolution, it is perhaps time for a new revolution in this country that has totally failed at the ballot box to change the face of America. Taxes are the only support these politicians have - my money and your money.

Without money, they cannot continue to disregard the voice of the people.

The "moral majority tries to make us believe that it is an attack on Christianity, whether or not the Ten Commandments are in a court officials building or not. This has little to do with being a Christian especially when the very same people that fought against the removal of the Ten Commandments from a judge's court in Alabama will not resist and take action against war, especially when one of those commandments say, Thou Shalt Not Kill. I don't read FIFTY justifications written alongside of this commandment for doing other than what it says.

It was only with the passing of time, that Christians came to the idea  of " justified war", and this not from scripture but from men, like Augustine.

I can truly say, Christian, "You Nullify the Commandments of God for Sake of the Traditions of Men!"

It is time for us to say, no more war, and no more support for your wars. My battle is not against flesh and blood. I am in a spiritual battle, in that battle we are called to render unto God what is God's.

The opposite of  the coin. Our very lives and all that we are and have belongs to God, not to the Federal government or the State, It all belongs to Him. what will you do with it, render all that you are to Caesar or to God. There is in the scripture, unlike "justified war", taught by men, there is clearly taught in scripture and the New Testament "justified civil disobedience".  "Is it better to obey God or men"?, the Apostle asked.

We know what they did, they obeyed God, and continued to proclaim His name though told it was against the law and to not do it.

This is one of the reasons, the early Christians turned the world upside down! They feared no man and only feared God. They lost all that they had to follow Jesus, who said," foxes have dens, and birds have nest, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head"

Lest we forget, we are no less called to this calling, that Jesus spoke, "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men".

Peace is the only answer to war, and we as Christians, are the answer for peace in this world, if we hold fast to the traditions taught by the Word and the Apostles instead of the "traditions of men"

Neither Muslim or those that practice unlawful  or immoral things, will ever be able to resist love and peace.

When we harken to His word, we truly will become "Fishers of Men" and like the Disciples, our nets will be full and our boats will be weighed down with the catch. But hear me, WE HAVE TO FIRST CAST OUR NETS!

Cast your net, stand against war and hatred, and turn to love both in word and deed.

 

 

Dr. J.